Air-compressing apparatus.



' No. 692,424. Patented Feb. 4, I902.

J. n. BURDICK.

AIR CUMPRE SSING APPARATUS.

(Application filed May 5, 1900.)

( No Model.)

llrvrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JUSTIN H. BURDICK, OF MILTON, VVISOONSIN.

AIR-COMPRESSING APPARATUS.

SPEGIEIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 692,424, dated February 4, 1902.

Application filed May 5, 1900.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JUSTIN H. BURDICK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Milton, in the county of Rock and State of WVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Com pressing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to the compression of air by the action upon suitable compressing mechanism of waves in their alternate rise and fall; and it consists in the means for accomplishing this result, all as will be more fully set forth hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of a structure and mechanism embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of l and drawn to an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a transverse detail sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse detail sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. l and drawn to an enlarged scale. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the air-inlet, air-outlet, and valves of the compressing-cylinder shown in Fig. 1 and also drawn to an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawings, A A represent piles driven down into the bed of a body of water so as to form open compartmentsor guide-walls for the reception of verticallymovable caissons A A, from which there rise upright timbers a a, supporting a door or platform a, there being as many of these caissons and uprights as necessary for the proper support of said platform and the piles A A being driven rather closely together but with sufficient space between them to permit the caissons to freely rise and fall with the tide.

13 represents another pile driven down at a point corresponding to and beneath the central point of the platform a, said platform being there provided with a central opening I) for the projection therethrough of a tubu lar cap B, secured to and rising from the upper end of said pile B. Secured to and rising from the platform a on each side of the central opening I) are timbers Z) Z), to the oppos in g faces of which are secured the preferably Serial No. 15,570. (No model.)

metallic guideways C 0, having vertical semicircular grooves therein for the reception of the similarly-rounded ends of a cross-head 0, these ends being vertically bored to receive the upper ends of tie-rods c c, and the said cross-head has a lower horizontally-bored eX- tension 0, hereinafter referred to.

D is a sleeve surrounding the tubular cap 13, said sleeve having a lower outer annular flange cl and having its upper end screwthreaded to receive a collar D, which is provided with opposed vertical bores therethrough to receive the lower ends of the described tie-rods c c, which latter are themselves provided with collars d d, bearing, respectively,against the under side of the crosshead ends and the upper side of the sleevecollar D and the extreme ends of the said tie-rods being screw-th readed, whereby when all the parts are assembled theyare held firmly together by nuts 6 e to maintain a fixed relation between the cross-head C and sleeve D.

E represents a float, consisting, preferably, of a hollow metallic shell with a central annular bore for the passage therethrough of the tubular cap 13 and its sleeve D, the walls of said central bore being shouldered,as shown at c, so as to form an annular groove for the reception of the lower annular flange d of the sleeve D, the said sleeve and its lower flange having a loose fit within the bore of the float to prevent any binding which might otherwise be occasioned by the variable movement of the waves in their rise and fall.

F represents an air-compressing cylinder mounted on a suitable support F at an elevation above the plane of the platform a. This cylinder is provided with an air-inlet f for the ordinary atmospheric air and an outletf for the compressed air, each provided with a check-valve marked g and g, respectively, as best shown in Fig. 5, and the airoutlet being provided with a pipe h, leading to any desired place of storage or use. The cylinder F is further formed with an annular water'space f for cooling the same. G G represent guides attached to the said cylinder F, and G represents a crosshead working in said guides.

H is a piston and h the piston-rod, which latter is connected to the cross-head G, as shown in Fig. 1. H H designate pitmen,

too

whose upper ends are pivotally connected, as shown at 2', to the said cross-head G.

1' represents an upright column having a cam edge I, said column resting on the-platform a and being suitably braced in position, as by straps t i, secured to the column and to timbers Z) l) of the guideways O C. The cam-edged column I l is preferably formed of two metallic angle-plates, secured back to back, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, whereby there is space afforded on each side of the central web for the reception of the rollers j j, pivoted to the inner sides of the lower ends of the pitmen H II and having travel upon the back of the said cam edge I.

J J represent a pair of links, whose lower ends are pivotally connected to the outer sides of the pitmen H H just back of the rollersjj by a journal which also serves as the journal of a roller K, which has travel upon the face of the cam edge, and the upper ends of the said links J J are pivotally mounted upon the ends of a journal 70, which has its bearing in the horizontal bore of the hereinbefore named extension 0 of the crosshead 0.

All parts of the mechanism are properly braced and supported in any suitable manner, so that the action of the device may be firm and steadyas, for example, the guideways G and their timbers b, which are shown secured to the platform a by the braces L and connecting eyebolts; but I have not deemed it necessary to encumber the specification and drawings with minute details within the province of the mechanic.

The operation of my invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. When my invention is carried out in connection with a tidal body of water, the described piling and caissons serve to maintain the platform in proper relative position with regard to the float whatever may be the elevation of the tide at any time, while when it is applied to non-tidal bodies the caissons are not absolutely essential, as the platform may be otherwise supported. In either event, as the float E is carried up ward by the waves the cross-head C is elevated thereby, causing the rollers j j K to travel up along the described cam edge 1, thereby, through the link-and-pitman connection described, forcing the piston H inward, and thus compressing the air in the cylinder and forcing it out through the outlet f" and pipe h, the full limit of the stroke being reached when the roller K is in line with the r central or extreme forward point M of the cam edge, and as the wave continues to rise and the rollers are thereby forced above this point then as the rollers follow the retreating line of the cam edge the piston will be drawn back, sucking the outside air into the cylinder through the inlet f, until as the wave begins to subside the rollers will travel downt-he cam edge toward the central pointM and again force the piston H inward, so as to compress the air in the cylinder, and after passing this point as the rollers descend to the bottom of the cam edge this will draw the piston outward and again suck in fresh air, and so on continuously and alternately.

l/Vhile I have illustrated my invention in connection with a single air-compressing cylinder having its piston connected to a single float, it will be understood that I may employ two or more of such cylinders properly connected together and with their pistons either actuated by separate floats or with all the pistons connected to one cross-head and that actuated by one float and serving to suecessively compress the air from lower to higher degrees of density without departing from the spirit of my invention.

It will be understood that when my device is applied to the ocean or other tidal body the openings between the piles forming the compartments for the caissons should be so slight that the caissons will not be raised by the passing of the swell or wave, and even a single narrow opening in each caisson-compartment would be sufficient to permit the necessary inflow and outflow of the water to keep the caissons at tide-level.

By the described construction and arrangement of the vertical cam edge on the structure adjacent to the air-cylinder, with the most forward point of projection of said cam edge at the center and in line with the piston-rod in the said cylinder, the piston is made to travel an even distance for each unit of distance in the rise and fall of the float at any point, and this secures the full value in piston-stroke of every inch of motion of the float near the midway point of action of each wave or at any point near sea-level when the piston is near its inward limit of travel-as, for example, when a very light swell is running on a calm sea.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An air-compressing apparatus, comprising an air-cylinder, having an air-inlet and air-outlet; a piston movable within said cylinder; a float, adapted to be raised and depressed by the rise and fall of waves; and means, connected to said piston and said float, for causing the piston to travel inward the full extent of its stroke with each elevation and depression of said float, the outward travel of said piston varying in extent with the height of the waves.

2. In an air-compressing apparatus, the combination with an air-cylinder, provided with an air-inlet and air-outlet, of a piston movable in said cylinder; guideways extending from said cylinder; a cross-head movable in said guideways; a piston-rod connecting said piston and cross-head; a structure having a vertically-arranged cam edge adjacent to said cylinder; vertical guideways adjacent to said structure; a cross-head movable in said last-named guideways; pitmen pivotally attached to the firstnamed cross head, and linked to the last-named cross-head; rollers carried by said pitmen, and adapted to travel against said cam edge; a float, and connections between said float and the cross-head in the vertical guideways for elevating and depressing said cross-head as the float rises and falls.

3. In an air-compressing apparatus, the combination with an air-cylinder,-having an air-inlet and air-outlet, of a piston movable in said cylinder; guideways extending from said cylinder; a cross-head movable in said guideways; a piston-rod connecting said piston and cross-head; a structure havinga vertically-arranged cam edge adjacent to said cylinder; vertical guideways adjacent to said structure; a cross-head movable in said lastnamed guideways; pitmen pivotally attached to the first-named cross-head, and linked to the last-named cross-head; rollers carried by said pitmen, and adapted to travel against said cam edge; avertical guide beneath said vertical guideways; a sleeve movable upon said guide; rigid tie-rods connecting said sleeve with the cross-head in the vertical guideways; and a float, loosely connected to said sleeve.

4;. In an air-compressing apparatus, the combination with a horizontally-arranged aircylinder, having an air-inlet and air-outlet, of a piston movable in said cylinder; guideways projecting from said cylinder in horizontal line therewith; a cross-head movable in said guideways; a piston-rod connecting said piston and cross-head; a structure having a vertically-arranged cam edge adjacent to said cylinder, said cam edge having its most forward point of projection at the center thereof and in line with said piston-rod; "ertical guideways adjacent to said structure; a cross-head movable in said vertical guideways; pitmen pivotally attached to the horizontally-moving cross-head and linked to the vertically-moving cross-head; rollers carried by said pitmen, and adapted to travel against said cam edge; a float adapted to be raised and depressed by the rise and fall of Waves; and connections between said float and the vertically-moving cross-head, for reciprocating said cross-head as the float rises and falls, whereby the piston shall reach its forward limit of travel in the cylinder at the midway point of action of each Wave in its rise or fall, and be drawn back to admit a fresh charge of air within said cylinder by the passing of the wave above or below its said midway point of action.

5. In an air-compressing apparatus, the combination with an air-cylinder, provided with an air-inlet and air-outlet, of a piston movable in said cylinder; guideways extending from said cylinder; a cross-head movable in said guideways; a piston-rod connecting said piston and cross-head; a structure having a vertically-arranged cam edge adjacent to said cylinder, and having its most for- Ward point of projection at its center and in line with said piston-rod vertical guideways adjacent to said structure; a cross-head movable in said last-named guideways; a float, and connections between said float and the cross-head in the vertical guideway'; and a pitman-and-link connection between the two cross-heads and rollers on said pitman in engagement with said cam edge, whereby the piston is made to travel an even distance for each unit of distance in the rise orfall of the float at any point.

6. In an air-compressing apparatus, the combination with an air-cylinder, of a piston movable therein, a wave-actuated device, and connections between said device and said piston, for forcing the latter inward to the full extent of its compression-stroke, during each reciprocation, without regard to the height of the waves.

. In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milton, in the county of Rock and State of Wisconsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

JUSTIN H. BURDIGK.

NVitnesses:

J. M. STILLMAN, CLARA S. BURDIOK. 

